Under Kenya Vision 2030, Kenya aims to be a middle-income rapidly industrializing country by 2030, offering all its citizens a high quality of life. It’s first Medium Term Plan was implemented between 2008 and 2012. This Second Medium Term Plan outlines the policies, programmes and projects which the Jubilee Coalition Government intends to implement during the five year period starting 2013 to 2017 in order to deliver accelerated and inclusive economic growth, higher living standards, better education and health care, increased job creation especially for youth, commercialized agriculture providing higher rural incomes and affordable food, improved manufacturing sector and more diversified exports. All this is necessary in order to address the acute challenges of poverty, joblessness, and inequality and to facilitate faster realisation of Kenya Vision 2030.The Plan was prepared through an inclusive and wide-ranging consultative process which conforms to the requirements of the Constitution of Kenya on public participation in public policy-making. Its implementation framework has also taken cognizance of the two-tier level of government, national and county, and new governance structures mandated by the constitution in the form of commissions and independent offices.
In line with the priorities outlined in the Jubilee Coalition Manifesto “Agenda for Kenya 2013-17 and Beyond” the plan aims at accelerating economic growth putting the economy on a higher, inclusive and sustainable growth trajectory leading to a double digit GDP growth rate within the five year period. To realize these goals and secure our country’s prosperity, the government will in the course of this plan period implement measures to strengthen our economic competitiveness through accelerated governance and public sector reforms and by increasing government spending on expansion, and modernisation of our railways, roads, ports, airports, energy, water and the ICT and telecommunications infrastructure. To further enhance efficiency and competitiveness of our economy, the government will devote more investment to infrastructure and to the key sectors of the economy that will drive growth particularly through public private partnerships arrangements.
The Jubilee government was elected into office on a platform that prioritises job creation and increasing youth employment over the plan period and expanding Kenya’s area under irrigation in order to increase agricultural productivity and food security. The policy mechanisms for realizing these objectives are contained in this medium term plan. A commercialized agriculture with high value addition remains our key priority. At the same time, the government will establish disease free zones in our livestock-producing areas, working in cooperation with the county governments concerned, to support higher productivity and processing of animal products for domestic consumption and exports. Similar efforts will be made to increase value addition and employment in fisheries and in the exploitation of our rich marine resource. In order to meet the goals of job creation, value-addition in agriculture, fisheries and livestock, and export diversification, the government will, therefore, establish special economic zones in partnership with private investors to support increased manufacturing and exports with high value added. To meet the demand for skilled jobs in these and other sectors, priority will also be accorded to programmes targeting training and apprenticeships to meet the demand for human resource skills required by the transformation of the Kenya economy which is central to this medium-term plan. As the education and training sections of this plan demonstrate, this will be accomplished through a variety of programmes under the social pillar. The government will also strengthen youth employment and entrepreneurship through credit, financial assistance and training. This will enable recipients to acquire skills and engage in productive employment on their own or as suppliers to the larger enterprises in the public or private sectors.
This medium term plan includes two key national initiatives that were not featured in its predecessor. Under the economic pillar, the development of oil and other mineral resources, is now included among the priority sectors. This follows the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in Kenya, in addition to substantial deposits of coal, iron ore, rare earth minerals and other minerals. Exploitation of these resources will be done in ways that benefit the people of Kenya most with priority on local communities and counties concerned. Mineral exports are also expected to help close the balance of trade, and to raise government revenue. Under the “Foundations of National Transformation” this Plan has added building “National Values and Ethics” as an additional initiative in the foundation of our national development.